In Battle
by GamblingDementor
Summary: 30 day OTP challenge: Day twenty two, your OTP in battle. What happened after Zhu Li and Varrick were expelled from the dragonfly-hummingbird flying suit.


Zhu Li and Varrick floated through the air like leaves in the wind, away from the colossus, away from the fight. As soon as they touched the ground, Zhu Li unbuckled herself from the emergency parachute seat and ran to Varrick, pulling him into a crushing hug.  
>"Varrick, are you all right?!"<p>

It was as if all the pressure and angst she had pushed down was only now coming to the surface of her mind. She was overwhelmed with fear, fear for her life but mostly for Varrick's and for the fate of the city.  
>"I'm fine! I'm fine."<br>He held onto her as if his life depended on it, his head into her neck, and if they weren't in such a life-threatening situation, she would have delighted in the way his moustache tickled her skin. For now, she had to think beyond the warmth of his arms around her, something she had dreamt about thousands of times before. Or maybe was it the heat coming from the burning buildings all around the city she was feeling? She could not tell. Tears threatened to run down her cheeks when she saw the ruins around her and heard the sound of the titan mechatank behind them, but she refused to let them fall. She put on a mask of bravery and self-confidence as Varrick was shaking against her. Maybe the reality of the situation was striking him as well.  
>"We're gonna get through this," she said in an unwavering voice.<br>"I can't… I can't lose you," he said and she could hear that he was controlling his tears a lot less than she was. "Not right now! Not again! We're supposed to get married and have babies and be happy for the rest of our lives!"  
>"I know," she replied and pressed a kiss into his hair, "I want that too."<br>"I love you, Zhu Li."  
>"I love you too."<br>She pulled away just enough to look him in the eyes, which were red and puffy, and kissed him.

Their first kiss after the engagement certainly did not lack any passion, but was nothing compared to their second one right now. She supposed that the taste of the tears and of desperation added to the feeling. The kiss started and did not seem to end. It lasted and lasted, bringing them the slightest bit of safety, of comfort they needed in the midst of the battling city. Zhu Li tried not to think that this might be the last time they ever kissed, and clutched his back tight, afraid to let him go.

An explosion startled them and tore them apart. Zhu Li fell from the shock of the ground shaking a few streets away and Varrick looked completely terrified.  
>"Danger. Run away. Quick!" she exclaimed.<br>They ran and ran as far away from the colossus as they could, until Zhu Li deemed they were far enough. They came across many empty buildings, but Zhu Li thought it would be better not to risk being crushed in rumbles in case the buildings tumbled down. They hid in an alley, crouched together between garbage cans, and Zhu Li's heart calmed down a little bit when Varrick hugged her close to his chest, even though he probably did it for his own comfort.

"I don't want it to be over for us, Zhu Li."  
>"Me neither."<br>"I can't believe we helped Kuvira with the vines... If we hadn't, then maybe..."  
>"There's no use in thinking about that now."<br>"I'm scared, Zhu Li. I mean I'm never scared! But right now, I'm so scared."  
>His arms tightened their grip around her and he pressed a kiss on the top of her head. She was scared, too, but thought better than to tell him. She needed to be the rock, lest they both fall into despair.<br>"We'll get through this, I promise," she whispered. "We will."  
>"I want to be your husband. I've wanted that for a while now."<p>

"And I want to be your wife."

"I want to wake up by your side every single day of my life."

She pictured herself going to bed with Varrick every night, waking up with him every morning, and it gave her all the hope she needed.

"Tell me more."

"What do you mean?"

"Tell me what you want for us."

"Well right now I want us both to live."

"I meant beyond that."

"You want to know what plans I have for us?"

She nodded.

"Well, you're in for a long story, then."

And a long story it was. Varrick talked for so long that for a while, Zhu Li forgot about the battle around the city. She forgot that they were risking their lives and listened to him, nestled against his chest, the safest haven in the world. He told her everything he saw in their future. He told her about the wedding ceremony he had in mind − Zhu Li thought she would probably try to convince him to change his mind about the flower boys dressed as Nuktuk − and he had apparently put a lot of thought into it. He told her that he wanted to take her all over the world and that they should discover it together because there was nothing he wanted to see if she wasn't by his side to see it. He wanted to make her his equal in Varrick Global Industries and have them be the richest couple who ever lived. He wanted to meet her family and be a charming son-in-law. He wanted her to meet his friends from the circus, his mother, not as his assistant as she'd met them before but as his lawfully wedded wife, and have the meeting be all about _her_. He still did not know if they would live in the Southern Water Tribe or in Republic City, but he thought maybe they could have some kind of compromise and spend part of the year in one, the rest in the other. He wanted them to have a few children and name them all Zhu Li or Varrick − she was _definitely_ going to put her foot down on that issue, though it did make her laugh. He wanted to be the perfect husband, he wanted her to tell him all his shortcomings so he could work on them, he wanted to love her and to cherish her every single second of his life. He wanted to kiss her and make love to her and make her feel so appreciated she would never doubt her decision to accept his proposal. She blushed when he talked about that, though he was very romantic about it and she could not say that she had never thought about it herself, so she could not blame him for mentioning it in his plans for their future.

"I never knew you could be so sweet, Varrick."

"Well, Zhu Li, I've found that there are many things you inspire me to be."

His smile was comforting. He kissed her and somehow she felt safe and a lot more confident in their future than she had before.

"Have you thought these things for a long time?"

"Quite a while, actually. Around the time we went to Zaofu after escaping prison."

"What? That was four years ago!"

He chuckled.

"I don't mean I decided I wanted to _propose _at the time. Just that I knew I wanted to spend my life with you. That I couldn't live without you."

"As your assistant, or… ?"

"I'm not sure. As a partner? I'm not good at this, Zhu Li."

"I think you're far better than you think."

She was about to give him a kiss when a horrible sound interrupted everything.

"Oh, dang, not again!" Varrick shouted.

They barely had the time to jump through the window of a building before a huge purple wave of light engulfed the street and everything on its way. It was gone as soon as it had come, though, and Varrick and Zhu Li found themselves staring at each other dumbfounded. In their fall into the building, Varrick had fallen right onto her, half crushing her. She was about to cough to remind him that maybe he could get off her and they could go look for the source of the energy wave when his eyes turned tender and seducing.

"Zhu Li, you saved me…"

She thought about leaving him with no proper closure as he had done her weeks ago, but it would be cruel, and really no way to act with her fiancé.

"Of course I saved you. I can't do the thing by myself."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss him. Or more like make out with him. She decided instead of going out right now like she'd planned a minute ago, they could just as well stay here and be busy after all. It wasn't more unwise to stay here than to go look for the source of the explosion anyway. They might as well spend the time they had as any recently engaged couple would. And if anything happened, at least they'd be together to see it all.


End file.
